News

Apple-HTC settlement patent list can’t be sealed

The list of patents included in Apple and HTC’s recent settlement can’t be sealed, according to a California judge’s ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh wrote that while pricing and royalty terms can be sealed for “compelling reasons” regarding future negotiations, the list of patents “does not meet the ‘compelling reasons’ standard” and that “there is nothing in the remainder of the agreement that presents a sufficient risk of competitive harm to justify keeping it from the public.” While Samsung was already given the right to view confidential details of the agreement, the public will now be able to see if Apple included any of its rarely shared “user experience” patents in the settlement. [via CNET]

Comments

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I can sort of see why Samsung has a need to see the Apple-HTC agreement, but why would the public have any right to know anything about the agreement? Does this mean the public has an right to see the terms of every settlement of every lawsuit? I thought there was some privacy on that.

Posted by Phil Dzikiy on December 4, 2012 at 11:29 AM (CST)

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@1: You would be incorrect. Court proceedings, with very few exceptions, are public record. Participants can argue that some or all of a particular case should be sealed, and the judge can agree or disagree, but the default is public.